


My Heart Bleeds Red Like the Racer

by orphan_account



Category: South Park
Genre: Eventual Romance, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-13 01:11:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4502064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The school year has just ended. Craig Tucker can finally go back to having another average summer. Or so he thought. After he keeps finding gifts at his doorstep allegedly signed by his favorite fictional character, he works to find the identity of the anonymous benefactor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Only five more minutes_ , thought Craig Tucker, staring at the clock on the eastern wall of the classroom. _Five more minutes until I am free from this class forever. If I could get out of this class without dying of boredom, I would be sooo happy._ He sighed. The minutes felt like entire prison sentences, all leading up to the sweet freedom of summer break. His pencil tapped against the wooden desk, rhythmically in sync with the ticking of the second hand to his right.

Five... Craig could just taste the sweet outside air calling his name.

Four... He became aware of his nasal breathing and every time he blinked.

Three... As the time passed, the tapping of the pencil began to echo the rapid beating of his heart.

Two... His mouth became dry. Oh, how he wished he had some water.

One... He could feel himself sweating underneath his chullo. It was so hot.

The bell finally rang. Freedom at last.

As if a chain had been removed from his leg, Craig sprung from his desk and made a dash for the door, but not without flipping off the teacher in his typical manner. All he wanted now was to go home. Just being in this establishment was draining to him, and he wasn't going to stay any longer than he absolutely had to. As he rushed down the hall, he noticed Token walking out of his final class.

"Hey, Craig," said Token. "Clyde and I are going on a trip to buy some stuff for a party he's throwing. Since I'm driving, I was wondering if you wanted to come."

"I can't, sorry."

"Why not?" he asked. "It would be pretty cool to get the squad back together."

"We weren't really a 'squad,' and besides, Red Racer is about to start."

"You still watch that?"

Craig sighed. "Yeah, so? It's entertaining and really cool. Could you maybe wait until it's over?"

Token pondered for a minute. "I'll give you an hour. If you aren't there, I'm leaving without you. Please don't make me leave without you. I'll lose it if I have nobody to distract me from Donovan."

"Okay, whatever. Only because I sympathize with dealing with Clyde's bullshit." Craig nodded as he walked away from Token.

It was a short walk from the school to the Tucker residence. When Craig reached the house, he pulled out the key that his father gave him to unlock the door. He remembered the redhead telling him "If you lose it, have fun breaking in." What a typical Thomas Tucker remark. Craig placed the key into the hole and walked into the living room.

Craig gazed and looked at the clock on the lock screen of his phone. It was 3:28. The blue-eyed male was just on time for Red Racer. He tossed his bag onto the couch and walked to the kitchen. Craig grabbed a can of cola from the fridge and a bag of chips from the cupboard. After all, what good was after-school television without refreshments? With snacks in hand, Craig finally took his seat on the couch.

Craig grabbed the remote and turned on the television just before the opening theme came on. Even though the song was in Japanese, he still attempted to passionately sing along every time. The show was a dub of the original anime, but it still kept true to raw version in pretty much all aspects. The only addition to the theme was English subtitles, which were apparently about the power of friendship or some other typical anime opening theme trope.

Today's episode was especially good. It was the first non-filler episode in over a week. The Red Racer was placed in his most perilous situation yet: a death race in which the person in last after each lap mysteriously disappears. It seemed fairly simple until he realized that his teammate was also entered in the race. In a conflict of interest, the Red Racer was forced to make a decision. Of course, the episode ended with a cliffhanger.

Craig took a look at his phone again: 4:00 already. If he was going to meet Token and Clyde, he would have to hurry. He unbuttoned his coat, exposing his white T-shirt which sported the Red Racer monogram. He left a note on the coffee table:

_I'll be out late. Don't set a place for me at the table._ _If I'm not back by 10, feed Stripe III and change his bedding. -Craig_

The jet-haired teen walked out of the house and set his path toward Token's manor. He stared at the sky: clear, with maybe a couple of cumulus clouds here and there. The warmth was nice, especially given how often the town was covered in inches of snow. Children were playing and businesses were beginning to see new summertime commerce. Craig was just glad that he didn't have to spend another afternoon in detention or doing community service.

Craig arrived at Token's place right on time. Clyde and Token were just hopping into the latter's brand new red convertible, which glimmered in the sunlight like a polished cherry.

Token sighed with a somewhat relieved tone. "Honestly, I didn't think you would get here on time," said Token.

"I'm not really the type to be late, am I?"

"Well, actually..." started Clyde.

Craig punched him in the forearm, causing him to whine. "Nobody asked you, Donovan."

"Oww, that actually hurt," said Clyde, still complaining over the hit. "Whatever, I still call shotgun."

Clyde hopped into the front seat. Craig opened the back door and sat right behind Clyde. Token got behind the wheel. He placed the key into the ignition and started the car up. The car pulled out of the driveway and through the gates as the boys began their summer break.

What could be better than this: three great friends going on a casual ride to grab some stuff for what was perhaps 'the most anticipated event of the week,' or some ridiculous superlative epithet.

It wasn't even five minutes before Clyde groaned out of boredom. "I'm turning the radio on," he said as he touched the dial. He turned it to a station that was playing an extremely generic pop song. Craig and Token sighed disdainfully.

"I swear to god, I'm hitting you again when we pull over."

"Tokeeeeeennn, make him stop!"

"I will turn this car around! Don't test me."

Yup, definitely the perfect start to the summer. Craig looked forward to enjoying a nice and boring summer. Well... if he could survive this road trip, that is.


	2. Chapter 2

Token parked beside Craig's house after eight hours of shopping for party equipment. Everything went well: the car was still intact, and Clyde was only slightly bruised from all the times Craig punched him. All in all, it was just an average trip.

"Alright, I guess we'll see you on Saturday, right?" asked Clyde, still wincing at the pain he suffered.

"Yeah, sure." Craig stepped out of the convertible and waved goodbye as they drove off.

Craig pulled out his house key and approached the door. Right before he reached the entrance, he tripped over something. Upon inspection, the now somewhat flattened item looked to be a box. Who puts boxes in the middle of the driveway in the dark? There didn't appear to be a return address, just a label that read "To Craig".

_I don't remember ordering anything. My birthday isn't for another few months. It's not even properly labeled, so it couldn't have been delivered by the postal service. Who the hell put this here?_

With the package in one arm, Craig unlocked and opened the door. Thank goodness it was after midnight and everybody was probably asleep, not that it mattered. One time he walked out and was gone for three days without explanation. When he returned, it was as if nothing happened. His parents just didn't care that much, it seemed.

He placed the box on the couch and took a seat next to it. The package was haphazardly covered in tape. The appearance of it was familiarly disheveled, but Craig couldn't figure out why; regardless, the mass of tape and cardboard was no match for his trusty switchblade. One clean cut was all it took to penetrate the barrier of packaging.

Craig dug through the mass of packing foam and bubble wrap carefully, biting his lip to hold back his excitement. In the midst of it all was a red helmet with white trim and a visor with a reflective finish. It couldn't be what he thought it was. 

But it was.

This was the helmet from the 2002 live-action Red Racer movie. There was even a sealed certificate of authenticity included alongside it. Craig was overjoyed. He couldn't believe he was holding such an iconic helmet in his sweaty adolescent hands. There was no more holding back his happiness.

"Oh my god, I am sooooo happy right now!" The outburst seemed very out of place for such a typically stoic guy like Craig Tucker, but he would let it slide this time. He looked inside of the headgear to make sure nothing was in it before attempting to wear it. After removing his chullo, he placed the helmet on his head.

It was the most amazing thing to ever grace his head.

Craig removed the helmet, replacing it with his chullo. He didn't want to risk getting it all sweaty or something. This was going to be the centerpiece of his collection. The teen took the helmet and its box upstairs to his room.

He walked into the room, turned on his light, and placed the box next to his guinea pig cage. "Stripe, look at what I got." He pulled the helmet out. Stripe didn't really react to it, but Craig didn't exactly expect him to, so whatever.

"I know just where to put this." Craig opened his closet door. Inside was a vast assortment of Red Racer memorabilia: action figures, comic books, trading cards, model cars, anything that you could think of. And now at the pinnacle of his collection was the helmet from the movie. He placed it on the top shelf in between first edition Red Racer model car and a framed photo of himself posing with a person dressed as the Red Racer from a few years ago.

Without even turning the lights off, Craig climbed into his bed. He pulled out his phone; apparently he missed a call while he was gone. It was from Tweek. Maybe it would be a good idea to call him to see if anything was wrong.

"Did you need me or something?"

"What makes you think that? Can't I just call my friends without being in trouble?"

"Somebody yelled at you at work again, didn't they?"

"Yeah... you really do know me too well."

Craig chuckled. "Somebody has to. So anyways, guess what happened today."

"You went somewhere cool without me?"

"It wasn't even that cool. Clyde cried for like 20 minutes because they didn't give him any meat in his burrito. But the point is that I got a package. Guess what was inside."

"Locusts? Anthrax? Used needles?"

"Dude... that's messed up. No, it was the helmet from the Red Racer movie!"

"Whoa, that's neat! I bet you enjoyed that."

"I sure did. Are you going to Donovan's party on Saturday? It should be pretty good."

"Ugh, I can't. Dad has me running a double shift. Have fun for me, alright?"

"I can do that, I guess. I'll let you go. Talk to you later."

"Okay, bye..."

Craig felt bad for Tweek. The poor guy was always being overworked, and it seemed to take a toll on his health. He would have to hang out with him some time, get him away from the coffee shop and just chill. Plus, maybe he could ask him a few questions. He couldn't explain it, but he just... really liked being around the blond.

He let out a yawn. It had to be close to 2:00 at this point. It really had been a long day between going out and dealing with that package. It was technically Friday now: only one more day until Clyde's party. He was gonna take the day just to relax. No dealing with people, just lying in bed and watching TV, probably with a 6 pack of cola and a bag of chips. The thought of it was enough to have Craig sleeping within minutes..


End file.
